The World Changes, The World Stays The Same
by ellenscult
Summary: Chuck/Casey, written for Misura, for the LJ Chuck Slash 2010 Gift Exchange prompt 'Another exciting day at the Buy More'. Contains explicit m/m sex. Don't like? Don't read. Holiday fluff!


**Note: **_Written for the LiveJournal Chuck_Slash 2010 Christmas Gift Exchange, for Misura, based on the prompt 'Another exciting day at the Buy More'. __This story is Chuck/Casey and contains explicit m/m sex, which means a homosexual relationship. If you don't like that kind of thing, if you're underage, if it's illegal where you are, don't read this story. Life's too short to get upset by things you read on the internet, okay? For those of you who do like that kind of thing, Happy Holidays!  
_

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With a groan, Chuck dragged an arm out from under the duvet and flailed until a lucky smack silenced his alarm. The arm sagged. A few seconds later, the arm moved again, dragging back the duvet and revealing a wild mop of night-tangled hair and a t-shirt that was twisted half around his body.

Eyes still closed, Chuck hauled himself into a sitting position with a grace usually reserved for zombies, then lurched off the bed and staggered in the direction of the bathroom. More by luck than judgment, he managed to navigate the perils of using the toilet, then shucked his clothes and fell into the shower stall. The blast of cold water surprised a yelp out of him, but it wasn't until after he'd finished washing his hair that Chuck's eyes finally opened.

Ten minutes later, Chuck was out of the shower, dried, dressed, with hair and teeth both brushed, and looking far more lively. He strolled into the living room, where Devon was sipping a glass of something bright green.

'Morning,' Ellie called from the kitchen. 'Want some pancakes?'

Chuck shook his head. 'No thanks, Ellie. Got to get to work.'

'Are you taking Morgan?'

'No, he isn't due in until eleven. I'm carpooling with Casey.' Chuck ducked into the kitchen and dropped a kiss on his sister's cheek, stealing a pancake from the plate beside the hob.

'John? That's nice,' Ellie smiled. 'You should bring him round more.'

Chuck shot her his best _let's humor the crazy lady_ smile. 'Sure. I'll… let him know. See you later.'

'You should make time for breakfast, Chuck,' Devon called after him as he hurried out of the door. 'Most important meal of the day!'

'Do you think he'll ever feel comfortable enough to come out to us?' Ellie asked, putting the pancakes on the table.

'It's only a matter of time,' Devon said confidently. 'It'll be awesome.'

As Chuck reached Casey's door, it swung open.

'Ready to go?' Chuck asked hopefully.

'Get your ass in here,' Casey scowled. 'And sit down.'

'What- You made breakfast?' Chuck stared at the table. Reports and maps had been stacked neatly at one side, leaving two place settings. Waffles vied for space on the two plates with sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs. 'We don't have time for this! We're going to be late.'

'Eat fast,' Casey said, taking a seat. 'Awesome's right, you need to eat something.'

'All right,' Chuck sighed, taking his own seat. 'Got any coffee?'

'I made extra. Figured you'd need it after you stayed up til three kicking Grimes' ass at _Call of Duty_.'

'I know I shouldn't on a school night, but Morgan's been feeling kind of neglected lately,' Chuck explained.

Casey grunted around a mouthful of sausage and for the next few minutes, the two men ate in silence.

'Thanks,' Chuck sighed contentedly. 'That was surprisingly thoughtful of you. Don't take this the wrong way, but can we go now? And why are you being so nice?'

Casey shrugged. 'We've got long shifts today. Unless you flash on something, we're stuck at the Buy More until eight tonight. I know how you get when you don't eat.'

'Hey, I'm fine with not eating. Really,' Chuck protested as Casey hustled him out the door.

'Yeah, you don't get at all cranky,' Casey said. 'Get in.'

With a pout, Chuck climbed into the passenger seat. 'In that case, you should buy me lunch. So I don't get cranky this afternoon.'

'Don't push it,' Casey warned, but his tone lacked its usual bite.

They drove in relative silence, Casey handling the Crown Vic with ease in the heavy morning traffic. As they parked outside the Buy More, Chuck frowned. 'Ellie said I should let you come round more often. I don't know why; maybe she thinks you shouldn't sit around on your own so much.' He shut the car door, careful not to slam it.

Casey locked the car and they set off towards the store, falling into step. 'You don't know why, huh?'

Chuck shook his head. 'Probably just one of those things. Next thing you know, she'll be trying to introduce you to one of her colleagues from work, set you up with a nice doctor. You could use your own doctor sometimes. It'd come in handy.'

'I'm a trained field medic,' Casey said. 'And how would you suggest I explain old scars from torture marks and bullet wounds to a civilian doctor?'

'So not such a good idea, then?' Chuck asked.

'Nope. Anyway, she won't try to set me up,' Casey said, pausing just outside the doors.

'You don't know Ellie,' Chuck grinned. 'Trust me, she's got you matched up already.'

'Yeah, she has. But she won't set me up with one of her friends because she thinks I'm seeing you,' Casey said.

'What?' Chuck's jaw dropped. 'She thinks- You and me? What? How?'

'You forgot where and why,' Casey said. 'Look at it from her point of view. You don't spend much time with Morgan any more. You're always over at my place. You broke up with Sarah.'

'But- You don't even like me that way!' Chuck spluttered.

Casey shrugged. 'You're kinda cute.'

'What?' Chuck stared at him.

Casey rolled his eyes, then grabbed Chuck's tie and hauled him in. Pressing a swift kiss to his lips, Casey released Chuck and gave him a little push towards the doors. 'Don't want to be late,' he smirked, then strode into the store, leaving Chuck staring after him.

Chuck found himself thinking about that kiss as Big Mike gave the Buy More team his own brand of inspirational talk before the store opened.

'And if sales don't pick up soon, I'm going to have to fire your asses! Bartowski! Could you at least try and make it look as though you give a damn?'

'What? Sorry, sir, I was just trying to remember if I have any home installation jobs listed for today. Don't want to let our customers down,' Chuck said, putting his years of experience to good use in a blatant-yet-plausible lie.

'Hmph.' Big Mike clearly wasn't convinced, but his own experience had taught him when not to question his employees. 'All right, you slackers, open up the store and go sell things.' Head held high, he retreated to the safety of his office, leaving Chuck to herd people in the rough direction of their departments and unlock the doors.

Unfortunately, there weren't any home installation jobs listed; the cage in the back of the store was largely clear of broken machines awaiting repair and no international villains wandered in to buy a new toaster to aid in their evil plans for world domination, so Chuck was left sitting behind the Nerd Herd desk without even Morgan to help him pass the time.

With nothing else to do, Chuck found himself watching Casey as the tall man reorganized shelves in the white goods section. Seeing him lift microwave ovens without breaking a sweat, all bulging biceps and large, strong hands made Chuck decidedly uncomfortable. So it was with relief he found himself breaking up Jeff and Lester's latest nefarious plan, involving betting on the kids who came in to play on the demo Wii system.

'They really brought in a ringer?' Morgan asked as Chuck filled him in on what he'd missed so far that morning.

'Yeah. God only knows where they found him, but they'd persuaded him to come in dressed up as a kid. He really needed to shave, you know, he had the whole three-day stubble thing going on and he was terrible at _Mario Kart_. I think if I hadn't broken it up, they'd have ended up owing money to everyone,' Chuck said as they leaned against the Nerd Herd desk.

'Oh, man, couldn't you have waited? Tell me you at least caught it on tape for future blackmail purposes,' Morgan said.

'Of course. What do you take me for? I have a copy of the security tapes hidden in the usual place,' Chuck said with a grin.

'A midget? Really? I miss all the fun things,' Morgan sighed.

'You know they prefer to be called persons of restricted growth, right?' Chuck asked.

'Whatever,' Morgan shrugged. 'So did I miss anything else good? Any hot mamas just looking for love? The apocalypse, maybe?'

'Well, Casey kissed me,' Chuck found himself saying. 'And he made me eat breakfast. And Ellie apparently thinks we're dating.'

Morgan reared back. 'Whoa, Casey what? He kissed you? Are you kidding me? Mister Growly I'm-going-to-rip-your-arms-off actually kissed you? On the lips? What the hell, Chuck? When were you going to tell me you're batting for the other team?'

'I'm-' Chuck found the instinctive denial dying in his throat. 'It's complicated, okay?'

'Uh oh,' Morgan said, leaning forwards again. He fished a ball point pen out of his pocket and clicked it a couple of times. 'Doctor Morgan is listening. Go ahead, tell me your troubles.'

'Well, I didn't think we were dating. I mean, he's Casey, you know? I thought he only put up with me because we work together. But ever since I broke up with Sarah, he's been, I don't know, looking out for me, I guess.'

'Uh huh,' Morgan nodded. 'And how does that make you feel?'

Chuck sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it even more unruly than usual. 'I don't know. Safe, maybe?'

'Safe… Interesting,' Morgan mused, tapping the pen on the desk. 'Emotionally or physically?'

'Both?' Chuck asked, confused.

'So you trust him with your body and with your heart,' Morgan nodded again. 'Do you like knowing he's there for you?'

'I don't know!' Chuck said. 'Yes?'

'Then date away, my friend,' Morgan said wisely, slapping him on the shoulder. 'It sounds as though he's the man for you.'

'But-'

But Morgan was gone, away to say good morning to the beautiful Anna Wu, leaving Chuck staring after him in consternation. He was still trying to figure things out when Sarah showed up at lunchtime.

'Good afternoon, Chuck,' she said, standing in front of the desk with just the right amount of 'let's be friends' in her smile. 'And how has your morning been?'

'Oh, you know, the usual,' Chuck said. 'Everyone's gone a little bit crazy. I blame the holiday music. By the eighteenth time you've heard _Santa Claus Rock_, you're about ready to gnaw off your own ears to escape.'

'Your ears?' Sarah asked, amused.

'Yes, well, you know. Today's shaping up to be a long, long, weird day. How're you holding up? Frozen yogurt any more seasonal than deep-fried wieners?' Chuck attempted valiantly to change the subject.

'Oh, of course. We have these little plastic figures that we're supposed to put on top of the yogurt, so they look like they're skiing downhill, but I've already had one parent threaten to sue when their kid tried to suck it up through the straw and nearly choked,' Sarah said.

'Wow, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen,' Chuck said.

'Here.'

A box landed on the desk beside Chuck's elbow. He looked round to see Casey walking away. 'Wait! Casey? What's this?'

'Lunch,' Casey called over his shoulder.

'Casey brought you lunch?' Sarah asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

'I… told him he should. He thinks I get cranky when I don't eat,' Chuck said, opening the cardboard container to reveal several carefully packaged pieces of sushi.

'You do get cranky,' Sarah said, staring thoughtfully after the older agent. 'Since when does Casey care, though?'

'Since he's dating Chuck,' Morgan said, appearing behind her. He leaned over the desk. 'Ooh, California roll! Nice.'

'And mine, thank you,' Chuck said, slapping his friend's hand away. He picked up the box, holding it to his chest. 'If you don't mind, I'm going to go eat in peace.' He retreated to the break room and snagged a table in the corner, ignoring the round of _Mystery Crisper_ that was being used as an initiation rite on the seasonal staff that had been hired for the Christmas period. A couple of minutes later, Casey joined him, bringing a couple of sodas with him.

'So…' Chuck said awkwardly. 'Thanks for lunch.'

Casey grunted. He dropped a pair of chopsticks on the table in front of the younger man, then dug into his own sushi box with a second pair.

They ate quietly together, until Chuck, finishing up his last piece of sushi, blurted out, 'Do you want to come round tonight?'

'What?' Casey fixed him with a stare.

'Well, Ellie said I should bring you round more, so… We could watch a movie? Or play a computer game. Or not?' Chuck flushed.

After an excruciating pause, Casey smiled. 'Sure.' He gathered up their trash and stood, pausing when Chuck put out a hand.

'Are we- Are we dating?' Chuck asked.

Casey's grin got wider. 'Sure. Why not?'

'Okay…' Chuck watched as Casey dumped their trash in the break room bin and strode out of the room. He couldn't help noticing how the green shirt made the agent's shoulders look impressively broad, and those beige slacks hugged Casey's butt. The door closed behind him, breaking the spell, and Chuck groaned, flopping forwards and letting his head bounce off the table.

'What's wrong?' Jeff asked, pausing in his tormenting of the new staff members. 'Casey not putting out?'

With another couple of thumps against the table, Chuck got up and followed Casey out of the room, ignoring the catcalls that echoed after him.

'I swear this day couldn't get any weirder,' Chuck muttered to himself as he walked slowly back onto the sales floor.

'Bartowski! Get in here!' It was Big Mike.

'Or maybe…' Chuck obeyed the summons, closing the door to Big Mike's office behind him.

Big Mike was standing behind his desk, wielding the rake for his Zen office garden. He looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. 'Chuck…' he began uncertainly, then poked at the sand in the little plastic tray. 'You know the policy on workplace relationships, right?'

Chuck shrugged. 'Don't freak out the customers, don't show too much skin in front of the security cameras, right?'

'Yeah, something like that,' Big Mike agreed. 'I turn a blind eye to a lot of what goes on around here.'

'And we appreciate that, sir,' Chuck said with heartfelt sincerity.

'I mean, Grimes and Wu, fair enough, but Jeff and Lester give me the heebie jeebies, if you know what I mean. Not because they're guys, but-'

'They're Jeff and Lester,' Chuck nodded. 'They give everyone the heebie jeebies.'

'Right, right.' Big Mike rearranged a couple of the pebbles. 'I like you, Bartowski. You're one of my best guys. And I've come to rely on John Casey as well. He's the only one ever to shift four BeastMaster grills over a single day, and it wasn't even a holiday weekend. Plus he keeps those greenshirt freaks in line.

'So sorry as I am that things didn't work out for you with that fine Sarah Walker, one bad workplace romance can sour a place for everyone. Don't screw things up with John. And don't let him hurt you. And keep those PDAs to a minimum. I don't want to have to send everyone on a damn sensitivity training course.'

'Uh… Thanks, I think,' Chuck said. 'Can I go now?'

'Go, work, do… whatever,' Big Mike said, avoiding looking at him.

Chuck nodded slowly and left. Safely back behind the protection of the Nerd Herd desk, he prayed for the phone to ring and give him something to do, but it remained stubbornly silent. 'Maybe I'm still asleep and this is all some crazy dream,' he said softly. Looking up, he spotted Morgan by the DVDs, prostrating himself on the floor in front of Anna, who was doing her best haughty empress impression. 'Or maybe not,' he sighed.

It was a long, slow afternoon. The highlight was an eighty year old grandmother bringing in her fifteen year old grandson because he wouldn't listen to her. Chuck spent an hour showing the sulky teenager how to use the top-of-the-line phone which his grandmother had bought him for his birthday.

'I got the same thing six months ago. It's a great phone,' the octogenarian enthused. 'I use it all the time. But will he listen to me?' She shrugged.

'Yeah, the young of today,' Chuck sympathized. 'No respect.'

Every so often, he would catch sight of Casey. He caught himself eyeing up the older man in a way he'd never done before. With little else to catch his attention, he found himself getting hot and bothered, flushing whenever the agent looked his way.

'This is stupid!' he told himself sternly. 'This is John Casey, remember? He could kill me in, like, a million different ways. Well, maybe a thousand.'

'Three hundred and forty-seven,' a low voice rasped in his ear. 'But that's only with my bare hands. And other parts of my body.'

'Oh, god!' Chuck whimpered, shivering as Casey moved away.

An eternity later, Chuck escaped into the cool evening air at the end of his shift. Leaning against his Crown Vic, Casey gave him a slow once-over as he approached. Chuck stopped a couple of feet away.

'Like what you see?' he asked with a touch of bravado.

One side of Casey's mouth quirked up in a little predatory smile, matching the gleam in his eyes. 'Yeah.'

Chuck swallowed nervously. 'So, about that dinner and a movie…'

'What?' Casey asked, amused. 'Worried you're going to be dessert?'

'Actually, yes,' Chuck squeaked. 'Can we just take things slowly for now? I haven't done this before. Well, dinner and a movie, obviously I've done that before. And it isn't that I haven't had dinner and a movie with a man before, because I do this all the time with Morgan. Well, not this this, just as friends, but- You know what, I think I'm going to shut up now,' he finished as a dull flush spread over his cheeks.

Casey's grin grew broader. 'Good idea. Come on, Casanova. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get down to going slow.'

'Now you're laughing at me,' Chuck complained as he climbed into the car.

'Uh huh,' Casey grunted.

Back at the apartment complex, they separated to shower and change, but twenty minutes later, Chuck opened the front door to find a clean, groomed Casey looking distinctly self-assured.

'Could you at least pretend to be nervous?' Chuck complained as the tall man brushed past him. 'Pizza should be here in a few.'

'What've you got lined up to watch?' Casey asked, making himself at home on the couch.

'I was thinking _Sneakers_, if you fancy it,' Chuck said, sitting at the far end of the couch.

Casey considered the idea, then shrugged. 'Whatever.'

'I'll take that as a big thumbs up, shall I?' Chuck said drily, his nerves temporarily evaporating. He hopped up to put the DVD on, then hopped up again a moment later to get the pizza. Food paid for, plates procured, movie playing, he settled down on the couch, not noticing how much closer he was to the big man.

A couple of beers later, the film was ending and the pizza was long since consumed. Chuck gradually became aware of the heat down his left hand side where he was pressed against Casey. One solid arm was draped over his shoulders and not only was it not intimidating, from the tightness in his jeans, Chuck was enjoying the contact.

'So…' he began uncertainly, glancing up at the agent.

'So,' Casey rasped, bending his head. His lips brushed once, twice over Chuck's, then settled into a soft kiss.

Chuck found himself kissing back, exploring those strong lips, harder than any he'd kissed before, enjoying the give and take. Casey's hand cupped his cheek, thumb sweeping over his cheekbone, angling his head. With a sigh, Chuck deepened the kiss. Before he knew it, he was flat on his back with his shirt off.

'Ellie… she'll be home soon,' he gasped, writhing underneath Casey's skillful hands.

'Bedroom,' Casey growled, getting to his feet. He tugged Chuck up, holding him steady as he wobbled at the sudden change in altitude.

'What happened to taking things slow?' Chuck asked, resting his hands on Casey's biceps.

'Want me to go home?' Casey rasped, his low voice going straight to Chuck's groin.

'Hell, no! Bedroom. Now.' Chuck took the lead, pulling the agent down the short hallway and into his bedroom, where he flicked on a lamp and locked the door. The low light gleamed off Casey's muscled torso as the big man stripped to his boxer shorts.

'Wow.' Chuck stared, unabashed, as Casey stood in front of him. His mouth suddenly dry, he hurried out of his jeans and socks, then glanced down at himself and made a futile attempt at covering himself with his hands.

'Shy?' Casey asked.

'No, just feeling a little…' Chuck shrugged, letting his arms fall to his sides.

'Come here and I'll make you forget about it,' Casey promised.

Swallowing hard, Chuck stepped forwards. 'You going to show me what you learned in seduction school?' he asked. He'd meant it as a joke, but it came out closer to breathless.

'You can tell me what you think of my skills in the morning,' Casey smiled, pulling him into a passionate embrace.

Tumbling to the bed, the men kissed, long legs tangling as their hands stroked over every inch of bare skin they could reach. In short order, Casey had Chuck whimpering, straining to press his erection against the older man's answering hardness. He played with Chuck's nipples, stroking and suckling, licking and pinching, until Chuck was incoherent underneath him. Then, like magic, he made their shorts disappear and wriggled down the bed, kissing a path to Chuck's weeping cock. As he engulfed the younger man's erection, Chuck cried out. Dimly, he heard the sound of the front door shutting, but as Casey swirled his tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves, his focus narrowed to that hot, wet mouth sucking hard, to those big hands holding his hips down as he fought the urge to thrust. Then he was coming, pulsing into Casey's mouth and the big man moved up and over him, coming to rest between Chuck's thighs.

'Nngh,' Chuck managed, wrestling his eyelids open to see Casey smiling down at him, blue eyes dark with arousal. 'Wow.'

Casey kissed him and Chuck could taste himself over the pizza and beer they'd had earlier. He fumbled a hand between them, closing it tentatively around the big man's hardness. Casey groaned, thrusting into Chuck's fist, so Chuck tightened his grasp and wrapped his legs around Casey's, until with a hoarse grunt, Casey came too, spilling wet and warm into Chuck's hand.

They lay tangled together, exchanging soft kisses as sleep rapidly overtook them, then-

'Chuck! How many times do I have to ask you not to leave the living room in a mess?' Ellie called, her footsteps coming towards Chuck's room. The handle turned, rattled. 'Chuck?'

'Sorry,' Chuck called back. 'I, er…'

'He's busy,' Casey said loudly.

'John? Is that- Oh!' Ellie said and the men could practically hear her blush. 'Right, sorry. I'll just- Good night!'

'Oh god,' Chuck groaned, his eyes closing in mortification, only to shoot open a second later as Casey dropped a kiss on his nose. 'My sister knows-'

'Good,' Casey smiled. 'Saves telling her in the morning.'

'You're staying?' Chuck blinked, an answering smile spreading across his face. 'You're staying. You know, I think I could get used to this.'

'Good night, Chuck,' Casey rumbled, tucking an arm under Chuck's shoulders and shifting him until his head was pillowed on Casey's broad shoulder.

'Good night, John,' Chuck said softly. He reached out and turned out the light. With a sigh of contentment, the lovers slept in the privacy of the soft Californian night, leaving coming out, saving the world and selling appliances for the morning and another exciting day at the Buy More.


End file.
